Getting Buyers on Board: A Quantitative Study to Explain the Effect of System- and Platform-Specific Characteristics on Buyers' Decision to Adopt B2C and C2C e-Marketplaces

Abstract

E-marketplaces represent a large and growing category of platform businesses that increasingly determine how products and services are traded world-wide. Their success largely dependents on their capabilities to attract both buyers and sellers. However, only a few e-marketplaces are able to reach a critical mass of adopters. In order to enrich the understanding of factors influencing e-marketplace adoption, this thesis aims to explain the impact of platform- and system-specific characteristics on buyers’ decision to adopt B2C and C2C e-marketplaces. Based on a review of extant literature, a TAM-based research model is developed. The model is empirically validated via an online survey questionnaire administered on a sample of 237 respondents. The proposed hypotheses are tested with PLS-SEM. The results show that the four system-specific characteristics content, navigability, responsiveness, and interactivity, as well as the two platform-specific characteristics network size and price competitiveness influence the buyers’ decision to adopt B2C and C2C e-marketplaces. Furthermore, the thesis demonstrates that their impact is mediated through the beliefs perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and perceived playfulness. The study makes strategic and operational implications on how to build and leverage B2C and C2C e-marketplace businesses. The primary value of this paper lies in providing a comprehensive and interdisciplinary model to explain and predict buyers’ decision to adopt B2C and C2C e-marketplaces.